Brevard creates emergency Hurricane Irma aid program

Brevard County Commissioner Jim Barfield introduced the proposal for a special county program to help residents affected by Hurricane Irma. The proposal was approved by a 4-1 vote.(Photo: FLORIDA TODAY FILE PHOTO)Buy Photo

Brevard County will create a special program to help people in need because of Hurricane Irma.

County commissioners voted 4-1 to establish the program, which was proposed by Commissioner Jim Barfield on Tuesday night, during the first of two county budget hearings.

Voting against the one-time program was Commissioner John Tobia, who also voted against the county's overall budget plan.

The county's $1.17 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 also was tentatively approved by the same 4-1 vote. A final vote on the budget will be Sept. 26.

Under Barfield's plan, $184,942 would be put into an emergency services program to help people with a one-time financial need because of Hurricane Irma.

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This was the view after Hurricane Irma from the south side of Shell Street in Satellite Beach, looking south.(Photo: TIM WALTERS/FLORIDA TODAY)

Money for the new program will come from county reserves, and will not affect the property tax rate.

The money potentially could be used to make one rent or mortgage payment; for a rental deposit for a new residence if someone is displaced from their previous residence; to help pay for repair costs not covered by insurance because of the deductible; or for some other similar need.

"These are a lot of people that are living one paycheck at a time," Barfield said, noting that many people have been displaced from their home or rental unit because of storm-related structural or water damage. "These are extenuating circumstances."

Details of the program — including how to apply — have not yet been established.

A caveat for eligibility is that the applicant could not "double-dip" by getting financial assistance for the same expense from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or another government program. Golden said there would be a special verification procedure established.

The amount of money approved for this program is the same amount of money that commissioners in April voted to cut out of the county budget for the budget year that begins Oct. 1 for an existing county emergency services program. That program's funding was cut in half as part of a County Commission effort to trim its budget.

The vote on that cut had been 3-2. Chairman Curt Smith and Commissioners Kristine Isnardi and Tobia voted in favor of the cut. Barfield and Vice Chair Rita Pritchett opposed.

That program was similar to the newly established program, but did not have the restrictions of being available only for post-storm expenses.

Golden described the emergency services program as being "for citizens that kind of fall through the cracks" with "significant issues that come up."

"There is a need for this," Golden said.

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MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY CAPE CANAVERAL. Howard Lounsberry and Teddi Salamacha of Cape Canaveral had their trailer destroyed in the storm. They live in the Port Canaveral Trailer Park. Howard Lounsberry and Teddi Salamacha of Cape Canaveral had their trailer destroyed in the storm. They live in the Port Canaveral Trailer Park. People woke up Monday morning to the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on the Space Coast.(Photo: MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY)

Most of the money for the new program will be used to help residents, but some will be used to pay for a temporary staff position to administer the program.

Golden said it is a "very labor-intensive process" to help people apply for the program and to make sure they would be eligible.

"We won't take anybody's word for what they owe or what they need," Golden said.

Under the program, payments would not be made directly to the applicant, but rather to the mortgage company or landlord, for example.

Commissioner Kristine Isnardi indicated she was conflicted about supporting the program, because she felt individuals, and not the government, should take the lead in such an effort.

"It's not because I'm heartless," Isnardi said. "I don't want anybody up here to think that. I don't know that it's our job as a government to try to completely fill that void. It's a fine line, because we want to take care of our residents. This isn't going to be our first storm. What's going to stop anybody on this board … or anybody in the community from asking for more money that we just may not have? And it will never be enough."

"My heart breaks for those in need, and I would hope that others like myself would step up and pull out their checkbooks and take your neighbors to the grocery store and do what you have to do to help your community," Isnardi said. "We're going in an area where we all want to help and we all want to do good and we want to feel good and we want to help our neighbor. But, at the same time, is that our role? Does that solely fall on us? You never have enough funding for this program."

Barfield said local charities and churches depend on the financial and volunteer support of local residents who now have their own post-Irma issues.

So some may not be in a position to help individuals in the way they traditionally have done.

"It's a tough time for the county right now," Barfield said. "It's much different than if everything is going really great. The well is getting dry. I think it's a concern we need to deal with now."

Tobia said he voted against the program because "we're asking taxpayers — those same people that had shingles fly off their house and fences fall down and power go out — to pay more in taxes to help fund this program."

Under the plan commissioners approved, the Brevard County Housing and Human Services would provide a progress report to the County Commission in six months.

During public comment before the vote, Cocoa residents Sara Ann Conkling and Judy McCluney spoke in favor of restoring money to the emergency aid program.

"It's extremely important to our community and those who have suffered the most from Hurricane Irma that we not make this point in time a point where we decide we are going to make more people who are already vulnerable homeless," Conkling said.

McCluney said: "For this fund, you're talking about the people who are families, mothers with children, elderly people. This fund … is often the last resort for someone to just keep those lights on for another month. It's a one-time mercy for so many people."

Budget gets preliminary OK

Brevard County's $1.17 billion for the 2017-18 budget year received initial approval in the first of two required votes. The final vote will be on Sept. 26.

That compares with the 2016-17 adopted budget of $1.06 billion and the current 2016-17 adjusted budget of $1.23 billion.

The owners of most residential properties with homestead exemptions will see their property tax bills decrease.

The general fund tax rate would decrease from $4.36 per $1,000 of taxable value in the current budget year to $4.16 in the upcoming budget year.

The aggregate rate would decrease from $6.59 per $1,000 of taxable value in the current budget year to $6.33 in the upcoming budget year. The aggregate rate takes into account the general fund rate, plus taxes for a variety of special tax districts and units.

However, under state law, the county has to advertise a notice of proposed tax increase as part of the budget plan.

That relates to how much overall would be raised from property taxes in the coming budget year, compared with this year.

Tobia said he voted against the budget plan and the tax rates because the state classifies the plan as a tax increase.